"ÉS" 2010. december - by Balint Szombathy

Soul cleansing gestures

István Ocztos’s art is changing and evolving continuously. He does not rest nor does he repeat himself. There is something novel in all his new drawing or painting cycles – some kind of a healthy shift due to cause and effect, an organic build-up and an exit resulting in a wealth of vision. Above all, his emotional world, the atmosphere present in his paintings is what fascinates the most, because it demonstrates a unique pattern of life affirmation through its serenity full of faith. Ocztos’s unflinching optimism radiates an inner strength and reflects lifechanging ancient human instincts. This is a real treat in our ever more dramatic, sometimes even tragic reality. Right in this moment in our world, we need István Ocztos’s paintings as well as their sheer energy and sophisticated playfulness.

It is uplifting to see someone coming by the magic of art. It is a moment beyond making art – it is living it, without mannerism. Revealing the uniqueness of the substances in our soul with a few simple brush or pen strokes, in a way somewhat similar to the interpretation of the visual mastery of striving for substance in ancient Far-Eastern wisdom.

Ocztos’s main iconographical symbols are a result of only a few, though extremely characteristic hand gestures: two vowels are being formed by one or two dynamic and powerful brush strokes. The closed and open forms of the letters O and U respectively are created by the disciplined drawing gesture of a regular sweep. These forms make up the nucleus of the composition, and the whole structure of the painting develops around these. The two letters appear in his paintings intertwined or placed next to one another. Not only their shapes melt into each other, but their colours overlap to create a third shade, developing at places a substantial layering. The imaginary surfaces generated by colours reflect the notion of creating space. The masculine power of his characetristic lettering are embedded into the texture of soft, light hues that evoke opposite emotions.

The emotions behind his works can be traced back not only to characteristics related to shapes and hues but also appear through the fight of the planned and the haphazard. The exact nature of his letter compositions make a contrast in the spaces created by the unplanned and less guided paint stains. The paint works itself into the wet paper for a time after application, therefore the constructivist attitude openly faces the lyrical aspirations. Ocztos’s organic views and his attraction to biology shows itself in the forms of his more delicately drawn flower and plant pieces, with patterns of the living nature randomly developing into symbols of human genitalia. His visions of eden formulate an honest longing for the pureness of all beginnings. He approaches the primary questions of being by childlike naivety and an elementary human demand. His works could be interpreted as a critique of the diverting symptoms of cosmic order and human civilization. With the dedication of the romantic archetype he directs our attention to our squandering, due to which our future in this world is more and more hopeless and inhuman. It is a paradox that the dramatic contents of his mostly ornamental art, which is composed of patterns beyond reality and abstract lingusitic elements evolves by the atmospheric tools of free playfulness and serenity.

Ocztos’s works have healing properties and they re-establish the optimum status of human psyche. Everyone should see his exhibitions to receive the gift of catharsis and of gaining strength by his paintings.

'life-drawings'

Drawing means to walk a line – according to Paul Klee. Walking the lines is an everyday exercise for Istvan Ocztos, almost his lifestyle. He draws lines with children's freedom on his meditative drawings, day by day he creates puzzling creatures.

The energetic drawings seem to follow the method of surrealists, the free-drawing technic that frees and controlls the subconcious at the same time. At the state of relaxed scribbling the embryo of the idea occurs and it is shaped by the consciousness right away. It is not an accident that the method of free-drawing is called „the yoga of artists", thus by their technic the drawings carrying organic impulses free their creator of the cramps of upbringing/education and the expectation of the society.

Istvan Ocztos's daringly individualistic drawings not only mirror the beloved workmethod of the surrealists, but also incorporate children's taintless approach to the world.His world filled with vibrating creatures and never existing animals seems to have its own, strange rituals. The symbolism of the subpoened figures is familiar and unknown at the same time meanwhile each drawing has the vain promise of solution.

Behind the matter of fact simplicity are marks of centuries of collective memory, fragments of knowledge that was once in everyone's possession but is now lost. Although we feel its presence, we cannot grasp or describe it. Istvan Ocztos is able to bring this knowledge to life visually and to pour its essence into his small drawings. But his serving up of this knowledge never leaves us satiated, it only makes the observer thirsty for more, and condemns him to keep on seeking. His lot is equal to the artist's, who poses existential questions and tries to answer them in his 'life-drawings'.